Ramblings of a Man Who Watches A Lot of Movies

Zombeavers (2014)

Zombeavers based on title alone is reason enough to watch it if you’re the type of person who sees a movie called Zombeavers and decides that it’s a must see. However, with such an incredible name and concept, it has high expectations to live up to: a simple, gory, creature feature would suffice of course, but Zombeavers goes one step further by being a legitimately fun and witty horror comedy. One could be forgiven for assuming it’s just another Syfy fare which ruins its awesome title with bad execution; all the while assuming it’s charming. Granted: Zombeavers is a self-aware silly romp that treads on familiar ground; but it’s also a witty little delight with bite that’s filled with all sorts of ridiculous surprises. So, to those of you dismissing this as another piece of crap: may your souls be DAMMED. Get it?

Zombeavers is an action-packed horror/comedy in which a group of college kids staying at a riverside cabin are menaced by a swarm of deadly zombie beavers. A weekend of sex and debauchery soon turns gruesome as the beavers close in on the kids. Riding the line between scary, sexy and funny, the kids are soon fighting for their lives in a desperate attempt to fend off the hoard of beavers that attack them in and around their cabin.

The movie opens with a truck hitting a deer on the road; this truck just happens to be carrying barrels of toxin, which it spills into the lake after the collision, infecting the beavers and turning them into rabid rodents. Now these aren’t your typical zombies; human zombies tend to be brain dead morons who lost their ability to formatively process thoughts when they became infected. Zombeavers, on the other hand, retain the skills of their regular beaver counterparts – chomping wood, digging tunnels, etc – but the infection turns them into cunning creatures who cut phone lines to ensure their prey can’t call for help. Moreover, they’re also bionic super beavers that are dam (get it?) near impossible to kill.

So many creature features in recent years have deliberately included bad CGI and poor humour as a wink to the audience, acknowledging their awfulness. While that can make for some mindless entertainment, I think it’s lazy; it takes a smart person to make a good intentionally silly movie, and thankfully Zombeavers is a witty affair which incorporates genre traits while still revelling in its own absurdity. This is more along the lines of Piranha than Sharknado and a wonderful throwback to a time when creature comedy could still provide entertaining horror.

In true 80’s tradition, most of the effects are practical: the beavers are puppets with only a small touch of CGI. The obvious looking puppets not only adds to the hilarity, but they also add to its charm. Some of the effects are just incredible; like when the infected victims transform into human/zombeaver hybrids.

Zombeavers is everything you could possibly want from a riotous creature feature. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all, but it has too much love for the horror genre to allow itself to be a throwaway piece of crap. They made this one to become a cult classic that can be enjoyed over and over. I’ll certainly watch it again. 8/10